The Washington Times AI News Desk

John Leguizamo trashes Hollywood as not an ‘accepting place’ for Latinos

JOHN LEGUIZAMO on Latinos in Hollywood: "It's always been a battle. Hollywood is not the most accepting place ... Even though we Latin people are 30% to 40% of the box office and a third of streamers, we're the most aggressively underrepresented group in America."

July 16, 2026

Gallego dismisses new staffer relationship report as ‘gossip’

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego brushed aside a new report alleging he had relationships with at least two Dem House staffers while he was unmarried and serving in the lower chamber, telling reporters Thursday, "I'm not going to engage in gossip."

July 16, 2026

Americans’ confidence in Big Tech falls to lowest point on record

POLL: Americans' trust in Big Tech has sunk to its lowest level since Gallup began tracking the measure.

July 16, 2026

Richard Gere calls Trump a rogue who has caused deaths

Actor RICHARD GERE on Trump: "He's a rogue personality who's destroyed so much; he's caused so many deaths. But it will be over. He's an old man; he's a damaged personality. You can see, he must have had a horrible childhood to be the man that he is now."

July 16, 2026

Video shows Baltimore teens beating elderly man outside 7-Eleven

Baltimore police are searching for six suspects accused of attacking a 74-year-old man outside a 7-Eleven, releasing surveillance footage that shows the group knocking the victim to the ground while displaying what appears to be an assault rifle and a sword. The footage shows the suspects, described only as younger males, throwing objects at the man and knocking him down multiple times.

July 16, 2026

Ex-TD Bank employees sentenced in money laundering, fraud schemes

Two former TD Bank employees have been sentenced for separate schemes that facilitated money laundering and fraud through their positions at the bank and, in one case, another financial institution, federal prosecutors announced.

July 16, 2026

Hal Williams, ‘227’ and ‘Sanford and Son’ actor, dies at 91

Hal Williams, the veteran television actor best remembered for playing Officer "Smitty" Smith on "Sanford and Son" and family patriarch Lester Jenkins on "227," has died at 91.

July 16, 2026

Real estate agent gets prison time for $15 million pandemic tax fraud

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud the federal government through fraudulent COVID-19 employment tax credit claims, prosecutors said. The government had recommended a 40-month sentence.

July 16, 2026

Video resurfaces of Mamdani intern’s ‘jihad’ remarks

A video showing a former intern to then-state Assemblyman and now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani invoking "jihad" while discussing her activism has recirculated on social media, reviving scrutiny of the mayor's past staffing choices. The intern said of Mamdani: "This is all jihad, this is all ibadah, this is all counted by Allah."

July 16, 2026

Memphis pizza owner defends refusal to serve National Guard troops

A Memphis pizza restaurant owner is standing by his decision to turn away four uniformed members of the Tennessee National Guard, a move that has ignited a boycott campaign and drawn a rebuke from a member of Congress.

July 16, 2026

5 questions about the World Cup trophy

Two teams, one FIFA World Cup trophy: Spain and Argentina meet Sunday to see who lifts soccer's most iconic prize.

July 16, 2026

Texas man charged over alleged threats to FBI agents and White House

A Grimes County man has been indicted on three counts of transmitting interstate threats over social media, according to federal prosecutors in Houston.

July 16, 2026

Frisco man gets 20 years for sex exploitation at furry convention

A Frisco man was sentenced this week to 20 years in federal prison for transporting a minor across state lines to a furry convention in Atlanta, where he sexually abused the child.

July 16, 2026

She knew ‘Donnie’ wasn’t real — she sent $90,000 anyway

A Maryland woman sent more than $90,000 over 237 days to a fake military boyfriend built entirely on lies -- and admits she suspected the truth long before she stopped paying.

July 16, 2026

FCC readies rulings against ABC’s ‘The View,’ Disney licenses

The FCC is expected to rule that ABC's daytime talk show "The View" is not a bona fide news program, a decision that would subject the Disney-owned broadcast to federal equal-time requirements for political candidates.

July 16, 2026

Former Federal Reserve official gets 38 months in prison in espionage case

A former senior adviser at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for lying to investigators about sharing restricted Fed information with Chinese intelligence operatives, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced.

July 16, 2026

Vance says he was ‘less enthusiastic’ about striking Iran than Trump

VANCE tells Joe Rogan that Trump was not influenced by Israel in Iran war: "I think the president, completely separate from any influence from Israel, believes very strongly, and again I agree with this, that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon."

July 16, 2026

Hollywood’s box office roars back toward a $10 billion year

A wave of surprise hits, a resurgent Gen Z audience and a string of billion-dollar blockbusters have the movie business on pace for its best year since the pandemic, with domestic ticket sales tracking toward $10B for the first time since 2019.

July 16, 2026

Red Robin closes another restaurant under debt-reduction plan

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has closed another restaurant as part of a broader plan to shutter underperforming locations, pay down debt and position the company for refinancing.

July 16, 2026

Survey: Half of parents worry kids lean on AI too much

SURVEY: Nearly half of American parents say they're worried their children rely too heavily on artificial intelligence at school and at home.

July 15, 2026